Cecropia as a food resource for bats in French Guiana and the significance of fruit structure in seed dispersal and longevity

2003 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. A. Lobova ◽  
S. A. Mori ◽  
F. Blanchard ◽  
H. Peckham ◽  
P. Charles-Dominique
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
French Guiana ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Fruit Structure

Seed-dispersal of Vouacapoua americana (Caesalpiniaceae) by caviomorph rodents in French Guiana

1990 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 459-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre-Michel Forget
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
French Guiana ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Scatter Hoarding ◽  
Natural Objects ◽  
Seedling Distribution ◽  
Seed Distribution ◽  
Caviomorph Rodents ◽  
Germinated Seeds

ABSTRACTA possible mutualistic dispersal system between a large-seeded tree of French Guiana, Vouacapoua americana (Caesalpiniaceae), and caviomorph rodents, Myoprocta exilis and Dasyprocta leporina, is described. Mast fruiting of Vouacapoua at the beginning of the wet season coincides with scatter-hoarding seed dispersal. During the wet season, almost 100% of marked seeds on three sites were removed: nearly 70% were buried and the rest were eaten by mammals. Unburied seeds were attacked by insects and/or lost their ability to germinate. Rodents preferred ungerminated seeds, and had no interest in germinated seeds. Seeds were buried individually near natural objects such as palms, branches, logs, lianas, roots and trees. After predation by rodents, seedling distribution did not differ from seed distribution. Most seeds were transported less than 5 m from the feeding plots but some were carried as far as 22.4 m. Between 40 and 85% of dispersed seeds were retrieved during the following month by rodents and eaten. The disinterest of caviomorph rodents in germinated seeds, because of rapid exhaustion of endosperm reserves, prevents feeding from hoarded Vouacapoua during the long dry season when resources are scarce. Seedlings emerging from forgotten or abandoned cached seeds appear to increase the recruitment of Vouacapoua americana.

scholarly journals Frugivory and seed dispersal by the yellow-throated marten, Martes flavigula, in a subtropical forest of China

2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
You-Bing Zhou ◽  
Eleanor Slade ◽  
Chris Newman ◽  
Xiao-Ming Wang ◽  
Shu-Yi Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Systematic Study ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Subtropical Forest ◽  
Geographical Range ◽  
Important Food ◽  
Living Species ◽  
Comprehensive Study

The yellow-throated marten, Martes flavigula, is the only living species of the genus Martes found in subtropical and tropical forests (Harrison et al. 2004). It is distributed throughout central and southern Asia in a wide variety of habitats. Despite its extensive geographical range, the ecology and behaviour of this species has so far received little attention, aside from a study of habitat use (Grassman et al. 2005). Studies on other martens have shown that fruits are an important food resource (e.g. M. martes, Bermejo & Guitian 2000; M. foina, Pandolfi et al. 1996). Thus, they are considered to be important potential seed dispersers (Corlett 1998, Herrera 1989, Willson 1993), as confirmed by recent studies (M. melampus, Otani 2002; M. americana, Hickey et al. 1999; M. foina and M. martes, Schaumann & Heinken 2002). Although no systematic study of the diet of M. flavigula has been conducted (Harrison et al. 2004), it is known to be omnivorous and to consume fruit (Gao & Wang 1987). To date, however, there has been no comprehensive study of frugivory and seed dispersal by M. flavigula (but see Corlett 1998).

scholarly journals Food habits and endozoochorous seed dispersal by small rodents (Cricetidae and Echimyidae) in a riparian forest in southeastern Brazil

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonardo G. Lessa ◽  
Camilla S. Paula ◽  
Rafael S. Pessoa
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Riparian Forest ◽  
Feeding Habits ◽  
Food Resource ◽  
Southeastern Brazil ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Pioneer Species ◽  
Small Rodents ◽  
Neotropical Rodents

We analyzed the feeding habits and the endozoochoric seed dispersal of six species of Neotropical small rodents in a riparian forest in the Cerrado biome at the central portion of Espinhaço Mountain Range, Brazil. The species presented a miscellaneous diet consuming arthropod, especially Hymenoptera (ants) and Isoptera (termites), fruits of pioneer species and vegetative parts of plants (stems and leaves). The high frequency of arthropods in the diet of all species studied reinforces its importance as a food resource for small Neotropical rodents, especially in environments with a marked seasonality, such as in the Cerrado. The number of intact seeds after gut passage and the higher germinability of the ingested seeds, compared to the control group, indicates that the studied rodents acted mainly as dispersers and not as predators of small seeds (≤ 1 mm) of pioneer species (Melastomataceae and Rubiaceae).

Radio-tracking observations on ranging and foraging patterns by kinkajous (Potos flavus) in French Guiana

1993 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Didier Julien-Laferriere
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
French Guiana ◽  
Primary Forest ◽  
Minimum Convex Polygon ◽  
Dispersal Agent ◽  
Radio Transmitters ◽  
Rest Time ◽  
Potos Flavus ◽  
Dispersal Distances

ABSTRACTTwo kinkajous (Potos flavus) were equipped with radio-transmitters and tracked during a 14- and a 7-day period in a primary forest of French Guiana. Both individuals were strictly nocturnal. They moved between food patches (flowering or fruiting trees) duringc.65% of the night, visited food trees duringc.20%, while the remaining time was devoted to rest. Rest time tended to peak in the middle of the night, whereas distances travelled peaked at the beginning and the end of the night. Minimum and maximum home range areas, estimated from minimum area and minimum convex polygon methods respectively, reached 15.7 and 17.6 ha in the female, 26.6 and 39.5 ha in the male. Mean daily activity area amounted to 5.5 ha in the female, 11.3 ha in the male. Distances travelled in a night averaged 1495 m for the female, 2540 m for the male. In contrast to the female, the male used the periphery more intensively than the centre of its home range. Both individuals occupied several roosts located in the canopy, but one far more frequently than the others. The male's roosts were all situated in the periphery of the home range.Kinkajous were observed feeding on flowers or fruits of 15 plant species. Among the 10 species exploited for fruits, at least seven were dispersed. Dispersal distances averaged 200 ± 75 m (13 seed dispersal occurrences for 16 defecations), while seed transit time varied from 45 min to 3 h 35 min.P. flavusappears to be nocturnal, solitary, a generalist fruit and flower-eater and an important seed dispersal agent.

scholarly journals Does masting result in frugivore satiation? A test with Manilkara trees in French Guiana

2015 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 553-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Mendoza ◽  
Gabrielle Martin ◽  
Adeline Caubère ◽  
Patrick Châtelet ◽  
Isabelle Hardy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Temporal Variability ◽  
French Guiana ◽  
Time Span ◽  
Mast Seeding ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Study Case ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Dispersal Effectiveness

Abstract:Species showing mast seeding synchronously produce large amounts of fruits during some scattered years. This massive crop has been hypothesized to improve dispersal effectiveness by a satiation of seed predators, but the consequences for seed dispersers have barely been studied in the tropics. We tested the hypothesis that masting resulted in satiation of frugivorous dispersers using the study case of two Manilkara species growing in an Amazonian forest in French Guiana. Seed dispersal was estimated by means of seed traps in two forest types during a 10-y monitoring. Manilkara huberi and M. bidentata showed three fruiting events in a time span of 10 y (in 2001, 2006 and 2010). Estimates of seed dispersal from 2001 and 2010 showed that satiation of frugivores only occurred in the year with the largest crop of Manilkara (2010) and in the habitat where the diversity of primate-dispersed species retrieved in seed traps was the highest (Grand Plateau, with clay soils), while fruit consumers did not seem to be satiated in other instances. Spatio-temporal variability of seed production and the community-crop context are therefore affecting satiation of frugivores during masting events.

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